The guard looked Elric up and down, his gaze lingering on the boy’s closed eyes.
A flicker of disdain crossed his face, and his lips curled slightly.
He let out a short scoff before speaking, his voice turning sharp and stern as he rebuked him.
“I have seen many people like you.
People like you who have lost some organs come here, trying to act pitiful so they can slip into the city and start begging.”
A faint breeze stirred the dust along the road, brushing against Elric’s clothes, but the guard didn’t pause.
“I’ll tell you right now,” he continued, his tone growing harsher, “I know exactly what you’re doing.
You say you want to go inside to search for work?
Hah.
You’re talking about begging, right?
You’ll wander around, hands stretched out, begging for coins from anyone who passes by.”
He took a small step forward, his presence looming, as if to block even the thought of entry.
“I will thwart your ambitions right here, right now.” His voice dropped, heavy with finality.
“In Sidian County, begging is not allowed.
Any beggar is thrown out of this city like trash.”
For a brief moment, the sounds of the queue behind them seemed to dull, the tension tightening in the air.
“If you really want to beg, then go to the south side of Sidian County,” he added coldly.
“There are a few markets there where commoners go to sell their goods.
You’ll find beggars like yourself gathered there.”
His eyes hardened as he finished, flicking his hand dismissively toward the road behind Elric.
“Go and beg there with your own kind.
Now get out of the line!”
Elric opened his mouth, wanting to speak—wanting to ask if there was some other way.
He wasn’t here to beg.
He had come genuinely in search of work.
He was the kind of person with a strong sense of self-respect, someone who would rather die than stretch out his hand for alms.
I didn’t come this far for that…
But before he could say anything, the guard mistook his silence for stubbornness.
With an impatient frown, the guard shoved him slightly back.
Elric stumbled a step, his footing unsteady, and before he could regain his balance, the person behind him pushed him further to the side, clearly irritated.
The man clicked his tongue in annoyance, brushing past as if Elric were nothing more than an obstacle.
“From where the hell did this blind beggar come from, ruining my mood?” the man muttered under his breath, though loud enough for others to hear.
“I have very important work to do.”
A few people nearby snickered.
Another man, standing just behind him, let out a chuckle and leaned forward slightly, teasing, “The important work you’re talking about is in the brothel, right?”
The first man stiffened, his ears turning slightly red as he shot an embarrassed glare back at him.
Before the exchange could escalate, the guard’s stern voice cut through the noise like a blade.
“Stop wasting time talking and give your travel permit.”
The brief moment of distraction faded, and the line began moving again, as if nothing had happened.
A short distance ahead, just past the gate, Peter slowed his steps.
He hadn’t gone far—only a few strides beyond the entrance—and he had clearly seen everything that had happened with Elric.
His gaze lingered for a moment, watching the blind young man being pushed aside, standing there amidst strangers who had already dismissed him.
But Peter wasn’t a saint.
According to him, he had already done a good deed by guiding Elric this far.
That alone was more than most would have done.
The rest… was up to Elric’s fate.
Even though a faint trace of pity stirred within him, it wasn’t enough.
Not enough for him to turn back.
Not enough for him to spend a silver coin on a blind stranger he didn’t know.
With that thought, Peter exhaled lightly and continued walking forward, leaving Elric behind at the edge of the line.
Elric quietly turned and walked back the way he had come.
Though he could not see, he remembered the path clearly.
Every step he had taken, every turn, every shift in the ground beneath his feet—it all lingered in his mind.
His other senses had sharpened over time, filling in the gaps left by his blindness.
The faint rustle of leaves, the direction of the wind, the distant hum of voices fading behind him… all of it guided him forward.
Soon, the noise of the main road disappeared.
He returned to the forested area, where the air felt cooler and the scent of earth and leaves grew stronger.
Stepping off the path, he moved deeper into the woods.
Twigs cracked softly under his feet as he walked a few meters inside before stopping.
Slowly, he lowered himself and sat beneath a tree, the rough bark pressing lightly against his back.
For a moment, he remained silent.
Then Elric shook his head lightly, a faint, self-mocking smile appearing on his face.
“I thought I could just go to any city,” he muttered, his voice low, carrying a trace of irony.
“Find a tavern… or any place where I could work.
With my good talking skills, I thought I’d be able to convince anyone with my words.”
How naive…
“I thought I could impress a tavern owner with sincerity,” he continued, exhaling slowly.
“Get a stable job… and then, using the system, grow stronger.”
His fingers tightened slightly over his knee.
“But I can’t even enter the county.”
A quiet sigh escaped his lips, blending into the stillness of the forest.
Yes… Elric had already awakened the system the moment he transmigrated into this world.
The very moment he had lost his eyes, the system had appeared before him, offering him a newbie gift pack.
But at that time, there had been too many people around him.
And besides, he had already been destined to be banished from the Pendragon family.
So he had waited.
Until now.
The forest around him was silent, save for the occasional rustle of leaves.
Elric straightened slightly, his expression firming, conviction settling across his face.
“System,” he said calmly, “open the newbie gift pack.”
The moment his words fell, a voice echoed within his mind—clear, mechanical, and emotionless.
“Congratulations, Host, on opening the newbie gift pack.”
A faint pause.
“Congratulations, Host, on obtaining Supreme Grade Sword—Yakuza Kasen.”
(A/N: The image is in comments.
And also the rough map of the continent.)
At that very instant, something appeared in Elric’s hand.
It was light.
Smooth.
A wooden stick.
Elric’s fingers curled around it instinctively, feeling its texture, its weight—or rather, the lack of it.
The system’s voice continued speaking in his mind.
“Congratulations, Host, on increasing your hearing and smelling senses.
Congratulations, Host, on unlocking Observation Haki.”
As soon as the system finished speaking, a sharp change surged through Elric.
It wasn’t painful—but it was overwhelming.
His ears twitched slightly as sound rushed in from all directions, clearer than ever before.
The once faint footsteps of people passing along the road a few meters away now echoed distinctly in his mind—each step separate, each movement precise.
He could even tell the difference in their pace… some hurried, some slow.
The world had grown louder.
At the same time, his nose caught something new.
Scents layered over one another—the earthy smell of damp soil beneath him, the dry scent of leaves scattered around, and even the faint traces of sweat and cloth carried by the wind from the road.
He could smell the people now… not clearly enough to identify them, but enough to know they were there.
Elric’s grip on the wooden stick tightened slightly.
So this is…
Before he could fully process it, another sensation unfolded.
The moment Observation Haki activated, a strange awareness spread outward from him.
It wasn’t sight—not in the normal sense—but something else entirely.
Within a radius of one meter, everything around him became… defined.
Shapes.
Presences.
Energy.
He could sense the rough outline of the tree behind him, its trunk firm and unmoving.
The uneven ground beneath him, scattered with small stones and dry leaves.
Even the wooden stick in his hand felt more “visible” to him now, as if its presence had gained clarity.
It was as though the darkness around him had thinned—just a little.
A faint breath escaped his lips.
Within that small radius, Elric could finally perceive the world again.